Mutants & Masterminds: Lake City Universe - HoH: Looking Through A Glass Onion (IC)

[Heritage]

Friday, October 14th, 2011 8:25 am. Front office of 'KDP International'

Detective Colby sipped her non-fat latte and sat iddy flipping through a magazine she'd grabbed off the low glass table in reception. "So let me get this straight: they still haven't chosen a superhero team name?"

Behind her desk, Kiki nodded vigorously as she tore her eyes away from her Facebook page. "I know, right? I mean, you'd think that would be the first thing they'd come up with!"

Sitting on the gray leather couch next to his partner, Detective Lisowski humorously sipped his black coffee like he was at a ladies' tea cicle and held up a finger.. "Ah contraire! A good team name is one of the hardest things to think up!" H set his coffee down and shook his head. "Think about it; first of all, most of the really cool names were taken years ago. Alliance? Taken! Guardians? Taken! Les Fantomes Patriotique? Taken!" And then he ticked off on his fingers. "Triple Threat, Pantheon, Interceptors, boom boom boom." He shrugged and spread his hands. "Let's face it, you've got slim pickin's after that; heck, even the New Guardians was already used!" The older policeman picked his coffee back up and shook his head again. "I do not envy these guys...and girls...mostly girls, actually."

Colby frowned and pulled out her cellphone. "Speaking of which, where are the lovely ladies of the Special Deputy's Office and Russ?"

Kiki waved a dismissive hand as she went back to checking the statuses of her friends. "They'll be here soon enough; Mike's been taking it easy on them this week, what with all the craziness that went down earlier this week..."

[Hellhound]

Abruptly, the air in the room thickened with the smell of Sulfur. A sound like a jet of flame roaring to life and being quickly extinguished heralded Russ' arrival. Since the end of their last ordeal, he'd acquired some new visual features to his powers. Whenever he transported himself, or propelled himself with the unnatural speed that came with his powers a light, fiery aura would form around him. It would seem that he was acquiring greater control over his powers. Some of the same powers that had earlier taken a few seconds of effort to summon now came easier and more quickly. The aura quickly faded, and his jacket, hair and shirt collar ceased flowing under the magical heat currents that seemed to encompass him.

"What?" He looked around quizzically, "I don't use stairs before I've got coffee in my system." He turned to the coffee machine near Lizowski and poured himself a cup. "That goes double for doors."

Russell gave a cursory look around the command center. Good, no Mike yet. Then he probably won't notice...

As the first drops of coffee touched his lips, he pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his slacks. He began typing a short text message to Val. <Coast Clear. No Mike.> Then stopped to gaze around those in the room and shrugged, <Doubt the rest care enough to sell us out at this point.>

It wouldn't take a genius to guess that the two weren't coming to work separately. Not that the nature of either of their powers required the necessity of commuting in a vehicle of any sort.

[SalmonMax]

Only moments after Hellhound's arrival, there was a phantom trill of a songbird in the air, and the suddenly thick smell of roses. A strong breeze gusted across the foyer, despite all doors and windows being closed, bringing with it a flurry of pink and red petals that swirled around in a vortex for a split second.

From that swirl stepped Sigil, in a shimmering opalescent gown, wand in one hand and a cellphone in the other. She was looking around with a harried expression. The petals gusted back out, leaving only a few around her feet behind.

"Where is my guide?" the fey demanded. "I have pushed her number buttons on the Fane of Cells, but only her golem voice speaks!"

She held out the cellphone as if she thought it might try to bite her hand and wriggle free. Over it could be heard:

"...not in at the moment, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you..."

[Heritage]

When Russell appeared in highly dramatic fashion, there were a wide variety of reactions for the room's other inhabitants; Colby just managed to avoid spilled her latte, Kiki squealed like a frightened mouse, and poor Lisowski spilled coffee all down the front on his rumpled raincoat, which from the look of it had been similarly doused in the past.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, Russ! Can't you tone down the damn Anti-Christ stuff? Shit, that's hot!"

Kiki swiftly moved from behind her desk, a handful of paper handtowels in her hand. As she noted the new arrival's 'security check', she smiled and spoke softly. "Y'know if you want, I can just send his schedule to your phone."

Lisowksi looked between Russ and Kiki, then smiled caustically. "Oh, are we doing 'covert ops' again? Yeah, that always works out well..."

His female partner smacked his shoulder. "Put a sock in it, Linus!" She turned to the team's sole male member and held up a hand. "Look, for the record, we're all behind you on this; lucky for you, Mike is pretty dense in the romance department, so..." She bobbed her head from side to side. "Just...be discrete. And be honest with your feelings."

Linus rolled his eyes as Kiki finished cleaning him up. "Yeah, and don't keep things bottled up until you turn evil and try to kill us all, because I hate when that happens."

,,

Only moments after Hellhound's arrival, there was a phantom trill of a songbird in the air, and the suddenly thick smell of roses. A strong breeze gusted across the foyer, despite all doors and windows being closed, bringing with it a flurry of pink and red petals that swirled around in a vortex for a split second.

From that swirl stepped Sigil, in a shimmering opalescent gown, wand in one hand and a cellphone in the other. She was looking around with a harried expression. The petals gusted back out, leaving only a few around her feet behind.

"Where is my guide?" the fey demanded. "I have pushed her number buttons on the Fane of Cells, but only her golem voice speaks!"

She held out the cellphone as if she thought it might try to bite her hand and wriggle free. Over it could be heard:

"...not in at the moment, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you..."

,,

Lisowski indicated the faerie monarch with an outstretched hand. "See, why can't you be more like Sigil, Russ? She comes in all nice and gently, like something out of a fabric softener commerical." He smiled and waved. "Good morning, your highness; did you sleep alright in your gingerbread?"

,,

This time, Colby flat out punched him in the arm. "Ow, what they hell was that for?"

,,

Colby stage-whispered through gritted teeth. "For being mean to the nice lady who can turn you into a newt, dumbass!" She then spoke to the fae with an expression that dripped with sarcasm. "I'm sorry, Sigil; you see, my partner, Detective Lisowksi, was born to simple peasant folk; he knows not how to speak with his betters, or any female who's not on the other end of a phone sex line..."

[Superball]

Naomi was still getting into her suit as she stumbled into the main reception hall, wearing nothing but the "Under Armor" style swimsuit she wore for underwear underneath the Superball Suit.

"Sorry, everyone, I was getting my suit's decontamination finalized... the adaptive memory polymers are a bit stiff, still." She said with a blush. Finally closing it up, then pressing a button on it's wrist to get the polymers to loosen, pressurizing the suit a little to help stretch the polymers before setting it for normal wear, the suit taking on a familiar form-fittnig look. She puts on her helmet which now has a transparent faceplate, with tracings of gold that lead to the OLED Heads-up display on the inside of the faceplate.

"Like the change for the helmet, by the way? After the last misadventure, I decided to increase my peripheral vision and have it so I don't have to worry about taking my helmet off for careful work."

Her shiner was still present, and the tape stitches were still there, visible under her pulled-back hair.

"And Sigil, I was taking care of some pretty important stuff... what matter was so important that you couldn't take care of it yourself? After all I just got cleared by medical this morning! Seems the concussion I took wasn't really a concussion, more the effects of blood loss."

Naomi had been trying to teach Sigil self-reliance. She might be royalty where she came from but here she was just a Faerie living in Lake City.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil's narrow gaze at Colby's partner was diverted by Naomi's perhaps-fortunate appearance. Instantly all else was forgotten.

,,

"Last night at dinner, I asked what mortals ate in the morning, and you said you would show me the nuts of grapes," she replied. "But as the wine cleared I realized that did not appear to make sense. Then I realized it must be a riddle. Nuts are seeds, after all, so you must mean the seeds of grapes. So I went to the market near your house to try putting grape seeds in milk, as you suggested, only to discover that mortal grapes have no seeds."

,,

She shrugged her arms out helplessly.

,,

"Quite apart from how you can grow grapes if there's no seeds to plant, how do you plan to eat grape seeds in milk if grapes have no seeds? What is the answer to your riddle?!"

,,

She glanced at Kiki and added, "I gave the man at the market your Cell Fane number, as he was concerned about payment for the grapes."

[Superball]

Naomi scratched the top of her helmet like she was scratching her head. "Sigil, the Grape Nuts thing is a trade brand. Grape Nuts are a type of grain based cereal. It's more of a joke. A way to get attention for the brand. Like "Lucky Charms" or "King Vitamin" or "Captain Crunch". Things or people that don't exist, except as mascots or a brand name."

She smiled, actually, at Sigil's Nievety. "Don't get me started on Apple Jacks."

[z-Blitz]

“It’s a dirty cereal lie.” Val was just suddenly in the room, as loose papers were sent fluttering across tables and the floor. A second later, the sound of the door to the stairwell slamming shut reached them. By that time, Val had already zoomed over to Hellhound so that she could coyly reach past him to get some coffee. Her green eyes made promises, stripped him naked, ravished him, fed him breakfast and sent him off to work with a kiss—all in the space of one glance.

Look, it was a very expressive glance, okay?

“Food never tells you what’s in it. Then you wouldn’t eat it. The names are to deceive you into buying some crap you don’t need and won’t like, all in the name of someone else making a buck.” Val only filled her cup of coffee halfway; the rest she filled with sugar and cream. Turning back to Sigil, she swirled the sludge that was now almost the color of milk and the consistency of half-melted butter and continued, “All they really want is for you to fork over your hard-earned dough for their chemical crap that has the nutritional value of Styrofoam.”

Val paused to slurp some ‘coffee’ down, giving her time to think of another euphemism or foreign word she could throw at the Keebler. This was fun. “And don’t get me started on Pops of Tartness… blech. Sugar and empty calories—a virtual wasteland of something they’d like you to think is food.” Looking innocent, the speedster watched Sigil’s reaction through half-closed eyes.

[Superball]

Naomi giggled.

She actually enjoyed being Sigil's minder for the month. It was a bit fun, in fact.

"Yeah... but if there is one thing that is a constant in all of the worse things that we could shovel in our mouths... Beef Jerky."

She smiled. "So many preservatives, so much meat... makes a good ration in a pinch though as long as the seal to the package isn't broke."

She sipped on her milk she had with her.

"Oh... did everyone get that Memo on a team name? Might be a good time to brainstorm since we are all here."

[SalmonMax]

It was virtually certain that Sigil did not understand most of the words Blitz and Naomi were saying, but credit had to be given for her contextual analysis of the words she did know. Then again, ruling over fey did entail a large amount of tolerance for nonsense. Or a willingness to savagely punish it, perhaps.

,,

"Not a riddle then," Sigil said, somehow managing to look both miffed and relieved. "You really should have mentioned that before, guide."

,,

She looked away, folding her arms over her stomach in a fit of momentarily melancholy. "I will be in the kitchens, should it matter."

,,

The woman claiming to be, or have been, queen of the fey, drifted out one of the doors in search of that room.

[Hellhound]

When Russell appeared in highly dramatic fashion, there were a wide variety of reactions for the room's other inhabitants; Colby just managed to avoid spilled her latte, Kiki squealed like a frightened mouse, and poor Lisowski spilled coffee all down the front on his rumpled raincoat, which from the look of it had been similarly doused in the past.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, Russ! Can't you tone down the damn Anti-Christ stuff? Shit, that's hot!"

Kiki swiftly moved from behind her desk, a handful of paper handtowels in her hand. As she noted the new arrival's 'security check', she smiled and spoke softly. "Y'know if you want, I can just send his schedule to your phone."

Lisowksi looked between Russ and Kiki, then smiled caustically. "Oh, are we doing 'covert ops' again? Yeah, that always works out well..."

His female partner smacked his shoulder. "Put a sock in it, Linus!" She turned to the team's sole male member and held up a hand. "Look, for the record, we're all behind you on this; lucky for you, Mike is pretty dense in the romance department, so..." She bobbed her head from side to side. "Just...be discrete. And be honest with your feelings."

Linus rolled his eyes as Kiki finished cleaning him up. "Yeah, and don't keep things bottled up until you turn evil and try to kill us all, because I hate when that happens."

,, ,,

Lisowski indicated the faerie monarch with an outstretched hand. "See, why can't you be more like Sigil, Russ? She comes in all nice and gently, like something out of a fabric softener commerical." He smiled and waved. "Good morning, your highness; did you sleep alright in your gingerbread?"

,,

This time, Colby flat out punched him in the arm. "Ow, what they hell was that for?"

,,

Colby stage-whispered through gritted teeth. "For being mean to the nice lady who can turn you into a newt, dumbass!" She then spoke to the fae with an expression that dripped with sarcasm. "I'm sorry, Sigil; you see, my partner, Detective Lisowksi, was born to simple peasant folk; he knows not how to speak with his betters, or any female who's not on the other end of a phone sex line..."

,,

"What's the matter, Detective? Guilty conscience?" Russell gazed at the detective over the top of his coffee as he took a sip of the black liquid. "Don't worry. I don't plan on going rogue. Despite what you might think, I've got a lot riding on being the good guy. What's that saying? Better the devil you know..." Russell gave a devilish smile when Kiki mentioned Mike and Colby offered her own support, "No thanks, Kiki, I think actually knowing his itinerary would take some of the fun out of it. All the same, thanks. I... We appreciate it." Russell's confident smile gave the impression that he had things well under control.

“It’s a dirty cereal lie.” Val was just suddenly in the room, as loose papers were sent fluttering across tables and the floor. A second later, the sound of the door to the stairwell slamming shut reached them. By that time, Val had already zoomed over to Hellhound so that she could coyly reach past him to get some coffee. Her green eyes made promises, stripped him naked, ravished him, fed him breakfast and sent him off to work with a kiss—all in the space of one glance.

Look, it was a very expressive glance, okay?

“Food never tells you what’s in it. Then you wouldn’t eat it. The names are to deceive you into buying some crap you don’t need and won’t like, all in the name of someone else making a buck.” Val only filled her cup of coffee halfway; the rest she filled with sugar and cream. Turning back to Sigil, she swirled the sludge that was now almost the color of milk and the consistency of half-melted butter and continued, “All they really want is for you to fork over your hard-earned dough for their chemical crap that has the nutritional value of Styrofoam.”

Val paused to slurp some ‘coffee’ down, giving her time to think of another euphemism or foreign word she could throw at the Keebler. This was fun. “And don’t get me started on Pops of Tartness… blech. Sugar and empty calories—a virtual wasteland of something they’d like you to think is food.” Looking innocent, the speedster watched Sigil’s reaction through half-closed eyes.

Russell was perhaps the only person that didn't flinch when Val breezed into the room. He'd seen it coming, of course. Then there was that look she gave him, and the volumes it spoke. It was astonishing how quickly she was able to cut straight to his core. Despite her incredible speed, she seemed to bring his world to a stand still. He gazed back into her eyes, a man standing on the edge of a cliff and wanting nothing more than to fall into her. But he managed to control himself. He knew that if they couldn't stay professional, the entire thing would come crumbling down. She knew all that, just from his eyes. At work, they could look, but they couldn't touch.

,,

He waited until she'd finished taking a sip of coffee before he subtly gave her side a pinch just above the hip. Well, maybe they could touch a little...

,,

It was virtually certain that Sigil did not understand most of the words Blitz and Naomi were saying, but credit had to be given for her contextual analysis of the words she did know. Then again, ruling over fey did entail a large amount of tolerance for nonsense. Or a willingness to savagely punish it, perhaps.

,,

"Not a riddle then," Sigil said, somehow managing to look both miffed and relieved. "You really should have mentioned that before, guide."

,,

She looked away, folding her arms over her stomach in a fit of momentarily melancholy. "I will be in the kitchens, should it matter."

,,

The woman claiming to be, or have been, queen of the fey, drifted out one of the doors in search of that room.

Russell, unlike the rest of them with the exception of Colby knew what it was like to have dealings with those that were far more powerful than himself. He knew that beings like Sigil were not to be toyed with. He had stood up to her after their first meeting, to establish that he was not easy prey for her. He had demanded her respect, and it seemed he'd earned it. He wasn't about to jeopardize that truce by mocking her. He didn't join in the rest of the group's reindeer games.

,,

Instead, he cleared his throat, "So, about that team name." He looked around the room, suddenly thankful that he was standing near Lizowski, the only other man in the room, "I was thinking something older sounding. We've got a fae, a genius, and a guy with an infernal pact, just for starters." He left out mentioning Blitz in an attempt to show he wasn't playing favorites. But the look he shot her in between glancing at the others let her know she was far from forgotten. "It would serve pretty well to have an archaic, more educated sounding name. Like we know what we're all about. For that, Latin seems fitting. It'll sound better, and we might be able to re-use some of the popular options. 'Lake City' in Latin would be 'Lacus'. That's got a nice ring to it. I think we should start there."

[Superball]

Naomi sighed. "Should I follow the Faerie... she's looking for the Kitchen, I'd better ensure that she doesn't like... blow something up."

She was going to respond to Russell, but Sigil was known to be a bit troubling. "While Lacus is a good start... we should go for something that does appeal to the lowest common denominator."

[Rachel Fiore]

It had taken her far too long to get to the building. Her stuff was supposed to be hauled over by now but she wasn't sure about that. Actually given the little time she had she wondered how she ended up accepting the transfer. But then again it made perfectly sense to her after what had happened a few weeks ago. The tall black-haired woman dressed in business dress held in anthracite colors with a white blouse entered the building on reasonably heeled pumps, not too high to be uncomfortable by 8pm and still high enough to add that little extra length to her legs.

,,

She had to admit, she was thrilled being here. It was a welcomed change to her old job which was predominated by waiting and examination of corpses and acquiring forensic evidence. It was interesting to determine how someone died or was killed but... well, it was very passive most of the time. This was about to change now, though.

,,

Taking a deep breath to gather her courage Rachel approached the office putting on a her friendliest smile and looking at her smartphone as she quickly double checked on the name of the person she was supposed to meet her.

,,

"I'm looking for a Mr. Kolanski...?", she asked suddenly very aware that she had no idea if he was a Captian, or Lieutenant... or were they called Agents here? That must be it. "Agent Kolanski?", she repeated a bit more assured now that she had chosen the right 'title'.

,,

"I'm supposed to join this new Team of... ahm... Special Forces?", she didn't sound much experienced and didn't look as if she was the superpowered kind probably just another of the 'regulars'.

[Heritage]

Colby visibly winced as Val and to a lesser extent Naomi wove their playful words around Sigil's confusion; as much as she understood the instinct to gently tease 'the new girl', she also feared the frustration and isolation the displaced monarch might be feeling.

,,

Lisowski snorted at Russell's suggestion for a team name. "'Lacus'? Look, I know I shouldn't have an input, but the first thing I think of when I hear 'Lacus' is 'lactose'. A Latin name might impress the archbishop, but it will confuse the hell out of everyone else."

,,

Kiki looked like she was about to say something when the elevator opened and a newcomer stepped out.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Kolanski...?", she asked suddenly very aware that she had no idea if he was a Captian, or Lieutenant... or were they called Agents here? That must be it. "Agent Kolanski?", she repeated a bit more assured now that she had chosen the right 'title'.

,,

"I'm supposed to join this new Team of... ahm... Special Forces?"

,,

"Oh my goodness, are you Dr Fiore?" The young redhead peered down at her computer screen. "Argh, i didn't realize you were coming here today; I can never figure out what order the emails come in with stupid Gmail!" Stepping around the desk, she held out her hand and smiled warmly. "Hi, I'm Kiki Knox, Mr Kolanski's assistant? Welcome to the team!" She motioned towards the coffee station next to her. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee or bottled water?"

,,

- - -

,,

The kitchens did not appear to be on this floor, but the smell of food did lead Sigil to a corner of the lab near the rear elevator that had been converted over to food prep; a dorm fridge, sink, hotplate, microwave and espresso machine provided basic sustinance for anyone working late on a lab project. Bo Chambers, the former Stalwart Beta, was here this morning, heating up a breakfast burrito in the microwave. He was wearing comfy jeans, cowboy boots and an open flannel shirt over a faded Backstreet Boys T-shirt. Bo didn't know a lot about faeries, but his parents back in Dallas had instilled in him good manners and respect for his elders; as far as he knew, all faeries were hundreds of years old, so in general he deferred to speaking to Sigil as he would an elderly relative.

,,

Upon her approach, Bo nodded and leaned forward a bit in a sort of half-assed bow. "Good morning, ma'am; anything I can get for you today?"

[SalmonMax]

"I want to make myself some breakfast," she answered, peering curiously at Bo's setup. "Is this your kitchen? How does it work? I don't see a fire...or knives...or any food at all."

,,

Sigil only vaguely remembered what a kitchen generally had in it, from her mortal years before crossing over. After that, food came from cookfires, or from tavern hearths, until she became Queen at which point there were more important things to be doing than touring the kitchen to see what the chefs did.

,,

And the truth was that, while hungry, food wasn't really what she was after. She just wanted to find a spot she didn't feel unwelcome for a few minutes. Bo was friendly, and polite, and that was...nice.

[Hellhound]

Russ stopped stirring his coffee as Rachel stepped off the elevator and was introduced, "Really?" His stirring gesture was odd to begin with being as how everyone in the room knew he always took his coffee black. "Really?" He said again in disbelief. It became abundantly clear that he'd been stirring the coffee simply to punctuate his ceasing to do so out of sheer disbelief. "You guys hired another women?"

,,

He fixed Rachel with an apologetic gaze, "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I'm getting a little outnumbered here."

,,

Russell gave Lizowski a brotherly nudge in the ribs, "Whoever said it was more difficult for women to find gainful employment, eh?"

,,

Russell downed the rest of his coffee and crumpled the paper cup in his hand. It promptly incinerated. "I swear," He pointed around the room eying the various female members of the team. "If you all start synchronizing your periods, I'm outta here." he was clearly joking around.

You know, you should really grow a tiny pair of horns every once in a while.

Yea, I'm sure you'd get a big kick out of that. Bet Blitz'd love'em, though.

Hah, yea, she's about the only one here that beats you out in terms of mischief. Which is saying quite a lot considering we're now batting plus one Fey.

Hmm. I'll bet you're disappointed in her.

Aren't I always?

Yea. In everybody.

See? We do understand each other.

Do we ever...

"But until that happens, I guess I'll just continue to keeping collective women-crazy under control around here." Russell said smiling, "I'm Hellhound, but feel free to call me Russell, or Russ when we're not in the field." He stuck a thumb into his chest. While he had no qualms about using his real name, he wasn't going to give his teammates names unless they wanted him to. With that consideration he introduced the rest of the team, "This is Blitz," He pointed to his left, "And our super scientist Superball." He angled his finger to point across the table to where Naomi stood watching after Sigil in the other room. "Sigil, our very own Queen Oona, is off in the other room." He waved a dismissive hand at the breakfast nook in the other room. "These are Detectives Lizowski and Colby, our consultant," Russell pointed to the two detectives in turn, "Bo, our notable financial and material expert on southern hospitality is..." He paused, craning his neck to get a better look at what Bo was in fact doing, "Currently educating Sigil on the glory that is the breakfast Burrito it seems."

,,

"That's all of us. Mike, our fearless leader, and your new boss I'm assuming, has yet to grace us with his presence. Heck of a first impression, beating your boss to work on your first day." Russell smiled. He liked punctual. Rachel already seemed to be shaping up to be someone that could be counted on. "We're and odd bunch, but we get the job done." He nodded definitively to punctuate his introductions. "Welcome to the team, Rachel."

[Superball]

"Hello." Naomi added with a smile, still wondering if she should chase after Sigil.

"Everyone here calls me Superball." She says to Rachel. "Nice to meet ya. Although I know next to nothing about you as I've not had a chance to look over your file... Yah, I study up on my teammates."

[z-Blitz]

“Clearly, there are far more superior women than there are superior men,” Blitz murmured before taking a sip of coffee. She winked at Russ when he glanced at her.

Ignoring her secret boyfriend’s continuing ‘oh, rly?’ look, Val sauntered over to Rachel. “Hi, I’m Valentine Malach, also called Val, also called Blitz when I’m in uniform. You can’t miss the uniform—it’s really, really red.” She offered a hand, still warm from holding her mug, and added, “If you have any questions, please just let me know.”

She was trying to be polite...

[Heritage]

"I want to make myself some breakfast," she answered, peering curiously at Bo's setup. "Is this your kitchen? How does it work? I don't see a fire...or knives...or any food at all."

,,

Sigil only vaguely remembered what a kitchen generally had in it, from her mortal years before crossing over. After that, food came from cookfires, or from tavern hearths, until she became Queen at which point there were more important things to be doing than touring the kitchen to see what the chefs did.

,,

And the truth was that, while hungry, food wasn't really what she was after. She just wanted to find a spot she didn't feel unwelcome for a few minutes. Bo was friendly, and polite, and that was...nice.

,,

For some reason, Sigil's naivite made Bo blush, and he looked around the lab uncomfortably. "Oh, uh...well, what do you like to eat? Hey, I make a mean ham sandwich!"

,,

He pulled open the small fridge and began to pull out a number of Tupperware containers and jars of condiments. As he threw himself into sandwich prep, he became more animated; here was a man who clearly loved working with tools, any tools.

,,

"The key is, you can't use that pre-packaged stuff; I'm talkin' deli meats all the way."

,,

He hobbled over to the cabinet and grabbed a paper plate and a loaf of crusty bread. "I'm the one in here the most; well maybe not since Naomi signed on, but I still keep all the vittles stocked."

,,

His skill with a knife was quite impressive, like a warrior's dance. In no time, the great work was assembled; a truly impressive sandwich, though possibly a bit large for a lady. He held the plate forward like an offering.

,,

"There ya go, ma'am! Oh, wait!"

,,

He turned and quickly rummaged around in the drawers until he found two toothpicks topped with bits of green plastic; he impaled the sandwich in two places, and the drew the blade across the middle like a samuai. Now at last satisfied with his creation, he once again presented his gift, a huge smile on his handsome face.

,,

"There now, fit for a queen! You wanna Coke with that?"

,,

- - - -

,,

Colby snorted at Russell's period crack. "Yeah, that doesn't always happen that way, Dog Boy."

,,

Lisowski looked slightly offended, and held a hand daintily to his chest. "But our cycles have been synchronized for years!"

,,

Colby laughed. "Yeah, well that's different; that's a partners thing." She looked Rachel up and down. "Have we met before? You'e name sounds super-familiar, but it's a big department." The detective offered a firm handshake. "In case we haven't, I'm Detective Morena Colby, and that's my lady-like partner, Dective Linus Lisowski."

,,

The older detective waved like the Queen of England and spoke in a British falsetto. "We are pleased to meet you."

[Hellhound]

Russell simply shook his head and smiled. He was having a good time today, which was odd considering it was still morning. Russell was not a morning person. Though perhaps it was just recent events that had gotten him in such a good mood. His eyes strayed toward Val and he caught her winking at him. The left corner of his mouth turned up slightly, and his good natured grin at the antics of the detectives turned into a sly smile at Val's innuendos.

,,

"Dog boy, huh?" Russell folded his arms, "It just so happens I'm rather fond of cats as well, you know. I just don't own one."

,,

Russell let his hands fall back to support him as he leaned against the counter with the coffee station, "Not that I miss the ol' buzzkill boss, but where is Mike anyway?" He asked glancing around as if half expecting him to emerge from some unseen doorway without any notice.

[Rachel Fiore]

"Hello." Naomi added with a smile, still wondering if she should chase after Sigil.

"Everyone here calls me Superball." She says to Rachel. "Nice to meet ya. Although I know next to nothing about you as I've not had a chance to look over your file... Yah, I study up on my teammates."

,,

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Naomi but smiled nonetheless and nodded friendly at her. "At least we're at the same disadvantage. I know next to nothing about this department. I just recently came to this... new condition, if I may say so.", she added a bit nervously. It didn't feel right to tell them just how excited and thrilled she was to finally get some action.

,,

“Clearly, there are far more superior women than there are superior men,” Blitz murmured before taking a sip of coffee. She winked at Russ when he glanced at her.

Ignoring her secret boyfriend’s continuing ‘oh, rly?’ look, Val sauntered over to Rachel. “Hi, I’m Valentine Malach, also called Val, also called Blitz when I’m in uniform. You can’t miss the uniform—it’s really, really red.” She offered a hand, still warm from holding her mug, and added, “If you have any questions, please just let me know.”

She was trying to be polite...

,,

Taking Val's offered hand Rachel briefly shook it and remained friendly as ever. "Rachel... Rachel Fiore, Dr. Fiore some may say but I don't insist. I think I don't have an uniform... yet? Are there any specifics? Team Colors? Tights?"

,,

Russ stopped stirring his coffee as Rachel stepped off the elevator and was introduced, "Really?" His stirring gesture was odd to begin with being as how everyone in the room knew he always took his coffee black. "Really?" He said again in disbelief. It became abundantly clear that he'd been stirring the coffee simply to punctuate his ceasing to do so out of sheer disbelief. "You guys hired another women?"

,,

He fixed Rachel with an apologetic gaze, "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I'm getting a little outnumbered here."

,,

Russell gave Lizowski a brotherly nudge in the ribs, "Whoever said it was more difficult for women to find gainful employment, eh?"

,,

Russell downed the rest of his coffee and crumpled the paper cup in his hand. It promptly incinerated. "I swear," He pointed around the room eying the various female members of the team. "If you all start synchronizing your periods, I'm outta here." he was clearly joking around.

"But until that happens, I guess I'll just continue to keeping collective women-crazy under control around here." Russell said smiling, "I'm Hellhound, but feel free to call me Russell, or Russ when we're not in the field." He stuck a thumb into his chest. While he had no qualms about using his real name, he wasn't going to give his teammates names unless they wanted him to. With that consideration he introduced the rest of the team, "This is Blitz," He pointed to his left, "And our super scientist Superball." He angled his finger to point across the table to where Naomi stood watching after Sigil in the other room. "Sigil, our very own Queen Oona, is off in the other room." He waved a dismissive hand at the breakfast nook in the other room. "These are Detectives Lizowski and Colby, our consultant," Russell pointed to the two detectives in turn, "Bo, our notable financial and material expert on southern hospitality is..." He paused, craning his neck to get a better look at what Bo was in fact doing, "Currently educating Sigil on the glory that is the breakfast Burrito it seems."

,,

"That's all of us. Mike, our fearless leader, and your new boss I'm assuming, has yet to grace us with his presence. Heck of a first impression, beating your boss to work on your first day." Russell smiled. He liked punctual. Rachel already seemed to be shaping up to be someone that could be counted on. "We're and odd bunch, but we get the job done." He nodded definitively to punctuate his introductions. "Welcome to the team, Rachel."

,,

"Thank you" - Rachel was literally bombarded by everyone but they all seemed friendly and open. She couldn't sense any open hostility or other oddities with maybe the exception of the overrepresentation of women in the Special Team.

,,

"I'm really flattered to be here. I just don't have the slightest clue what to do next. I was transferred here and asked to meet Agent Kolanski... that's basically it.", Rachel wiped a lose strand back behind her ear and double checked if her hair was still ok, an obvious nervous reaction. She was so looking forward to the next days and couldn't hide her excitement.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil smiled and accepted the sandwich. She remembered putting meat between thick sliced bread from back before Faerie, but only vaguely...and she was pretty sure there'd been a lot more meat, and not much else, and the bread had been much thicker because the meat had been roasted and dripping. This was much...more elegant, she thought. Dry and crisp and clean.

,,

She accepted the 'coke' as well, and frowned at the metal thing he gave her, garish in its vibrant red hue, until he apologized and showed her how to open it. The scent was slightly acrid, but sweet on her tongue. Strange.

,,

After a second of shifting things around, Bo found her a chair, and she ate the sandwich in several good-sized bites. The bread was incredibly fine-ground flour...sweet too, almost like a roll. Somehow it held together, even as thinly sliced as it was. The cheese was interesting, a little tart on the tongue but not strong like most such cheeses...it did not obstruct the other tastes in the sandwich. That was good, because the rest of it was like a freshly made salad between bread, scrumptious. The only sour point was the meat. She'd thought it looked funny when he'd put it on. It was too thin, too pink, too dry. It was definitely not fresh with that strong salty flavor, and it had a strange almost metallic aftertaste that made her smack her lips a little and reach for the 'coke' to wash it away.

,,

And with that, all thoughts of the sandwich evaporated.

,,

The 'coke' was amazing. It was as if someone took pure candy of the most expensive kind, pureed it into a liquid, then mixed it with...with...what WAS that to make it tingle and burn, but not hurt? It fizzed and jumped in her mouth like it was alive! The sweetness was almost overpowering! Her eyes widened, and the rush was almost instantaneous. She finished the rest of the can in frantic gulps and jumped to her feet. Somehow the fizzing and jumping was in her head now, in her mind. She felt preternaturally alert, aware...as if time had slowed down around her but left her alone.

,,

All the doubts and fatigue were obliterated! There was no more TIME to just stand around! Octavia was gaining power by the moment and her winter was coming!

,,

With a slightly too wide, manic grin at Bo, she said, "Thank you! I'll make it up to you, but right now I need my guide. Guide!" She looked around and shouted. "Guide! We must begin immediately!"

,,

On bare feet she ran back across the lab, nearly tripping over a low worktable in her haste but barely noticing it in her sudden, newfound urgency.

,,

"I need to know everything about this world!"

,,

(OOC - Sigil is on her way back, calling ahead of her, but y'all can have her come back whenever due to temporal stuff going on...between her conversation with Bo and then eating a quick breakfast, she was a bit out of sync with y'all...so I'll wait for someone to work her into a post before assuming she's there )

[z-Blitz]

Val grinned. “Regs insist that we wear skin-tight clothing in order to reduce wind resistance when we move. Tights are acceptable but I prefer leather. I run through a lot of baby powder to get the suit on.” All of this was said with a straight face and a pleasant smile. When Russ cleared his throat, Val sighed and still with that smile added, “But you can wear whatever like. I wear a mask so that I can protect the public from my overwhelming beauty.” This time Russ made a choked noise, causing the girl’s smile to widen.

“So, uh… if I can be rude… what do you do, Rachel?”

I wasn't sure if Sigil came all the way back to where they were, so I didn't include her entrance. I certainly can if she did.

[Superball]

Naomi chuckled.

"Actually we wear what we want practically. Just my powers are well... this suit." Naomi said, stretching out.

"I could never get the thing about Spandex and superheroes though, never made sense to me."

[Hellhound]

"I would have to agree with that, actually." Russ chimed in, straightening his tie. "Give me a good pair of pants and a jacket any day."

,,

"The day that spandex becomes the required dress code is the day this team's PR scandal makes headlines." Russell said with a joking smile, "Though I'll admit, it definitely works for some people just fine," He shot a very telling sideways glance toward Blitz out of the corner of his eye.

[Superball]

"I don't think I would look too good in spandex personally." Naomi said, looking down at the floor. "I'm a bit of a string-bean, that is when I'm not in the suit.

She smiled, tracing the contour of her leg, along a seam line It was obvious there was a little padding under the suit's skin. "But... that's the life of a supergenius, trading the brawn for brains."

"Although I am incredibly patient." She sighed. "Sigil does vex me from time to time, but she's... definately not from around here. So that's forgiven. She does need to adapt before she can function as a full member of the team, I think."

"But you, Miss, I definately look foreward to working with." She says, looking to the newcomer.

[Heritage]

Kiki got a phone call on her O-phone. "Oops, who is it...oh, it's Mike!" She raised the phone to her ear with a smile. "Greetings, Agent Kolansky!...Yeah, 'agent'; it's what all the cool kids are calling you these days." Suddenly she looked serious. "Wait, what? Okay...okay, I'll tell her. Bye." The young redhead put her cell away and took a deep breath. "Uh, Rachel? Looks like you're gonna have a change of venue for meeting Mike; he's meeting with the Sheriff and it sounds important. He told me to send you over there."

,,

Colby frowned and Lisowski actually didn't have a wisecrack. "Is everything okay?"

,,

Kiki shook her head and waved her hand. "No, nothing like that...or at least I don't think so. Rachel, do you know how to get to the County Building?"

,,

The new arrvial, who appeared to be leaving rather abruptly, nodded firmly. "Of course, I've been there a thousand times." She looked rather sad as she briefly met everyone's gaze. "Looks like we'll have to take a rain check on the power demonstration." She sighed. "And I really wanted you to see me pick up a car!" She waved as she head for the elevator and called a cab.

,,

Colby sort of stared off into space for a few seconds before she finally spoke up. "Well that was disappointing." She gave her partner a quizical glance. "Did she say 'pick up a car'?"

,,

The older man nodded and held up his hands in frustration. "I know! That would have been so cool!" He sank back into the sofa, shaking his head. "Oh well." Then he gestured towards Russell with a half-hearted wave of his hand. "I guess we'll have to make do with all those shocking secrets you dug up on Hellhound's family."

,,

Suddenly a caffiene-crazed Sigil zipped into the room, followed by a breathless Bo. "I'm sorry, I never should have let her have that Coke!"

[SalmonMax]

"Don't be ridiculous," Sigil replied to Bo without turning to look at him. "It was exactly what I needed."

,,

She planted her fists on her hips and surveyed everyone gathered there, then nodded. Her words came rapid-fire as she switched her attention to and fro to whoever she was addressing.

,,

"I would like to formalize our alliance. I'm sure there are treaties or something similar to arrange that. I will fight alongside you in your battles, and you alongside me in mine. As one! Guide, I will need your aid in arranging a supply of this 'coke' in my place of residence here. Kiki-Behind-The-Desk, does your company provide residence, or merely the funds to purchase it? Also, Guide, you must help me select clothes in the local fashion...dreary as it is. I must be seen as one of you and it's a bother to use magic all the time."

,,

Sigil pointed at Hellhound, "As for you, we need to discuss the situation around your possession some time." She turned to look at Colby. "I should also like a copy of the local laws. I can't expect my guide to know them all by heart, and quite frankly I don't think I'll ever sleep again." The fey grinned widely, then swooped around to fix Blitz with her green-eyed gaze.

,,

"And you? You need to laugh more."

,,

Her wand flicked, and a little pixie the size of a bumblebee appeared and grabbed a lock of Blitz's hair, then buzzed up and away, tugging at it with a melodramatic, "Nnnngh" of exertion.

,,

(OOC - Just her wand's Move Object power with a weird visual effect attached.)

[z-Blitz]

Val choked on a sip of coffee when Lisowski made his comment. Her eyes darted to Russ and then back the detective. She wasn’t sure what to say to that, but her heart was hammering double-time as she began a paranoid spiral fear about what those secrets might be. Before she could even come up with a glibly casual question, Sigil hurried into the room on a super and caffeine super-high.

When the pixie grabbed her hair, Blitz zipped into motion. She broke loose of the ‘pixie’, mostly because Sigil didn’t wish to pull her hair. In a blur, she was behind Sigil, murmuring in her ear with a jolly grin, “Be careful what you wish for, Keebler.” As far as she was concerned, Sigil had administered the first volley in a friendly war of one-upmanship.

[Superball]

"SIGIL, STOP THIS CHICANERY AT ONCE!!!" Naomi shouted with uncharacteristic emphasis. "You are *this* close to breaking your end of our bargain... You agreed to certain terms and you have been skirting the limits time and time again. So I am warning you, fairy... my patience is wearing thin."

She stumbles for a moment, before catching herself with help from a table. Her bloodpressure spiking didn't help her recovery from a concussion. Her eyes dialated.

"This sort of behavior does not fly around here, Sigil. Apologise. Now."

[SalmonMax]

Sigil's attention was distracted away from Blitz to Naomi, whom she regarded with a bemused expression. The sprite, bereft of hair to tug 'eeped' and zipped behind a coffee cup on the corner of the desk to shield itself from the wrath of Superball.

,,

"Apologise to whom?" Sigil asked after a moment. "For what? And if you want to accuse me of breaking my bargain, you should be prepared to explain...it is a serious accusation."

,,

"So. Why don't you take a deep breath, calm down, and say what's on your mind, guide? Would you like some 'coke?' It does wonders for a foul mood."

,,

She gestured with the wand, and the pixie dutifully picked up the cup it was hiding behind and fluttered unsteadily towards Naomi.

[Hellhound]

Russell's reflexes were not as fast as Val's were, but they were still far beyond that of any normal human. And yet, despite all that, he still found the situation getting way out of hand.

,,

Lisowski's comment about his family could not go unaddressed, and with the chaos that was beginning to ensue it was in danger of doing just that. He was only glad that Rachel was already gone, so he wouldn't have to deal with her as well.

,,

Naomi had been forceful in punctuating her words. Russell was explosive.

,,

"ENOUGH!"

,,

he briefly erupted in a gout of flame, but rapidly extinguished it as every pair of eyes in the room settled on him. "Blitz, Sigil, break it up." His voice was once again calm and controlled, "Naomi, calm down. You're bright as hell, but you're in over your head here. I'm thankful for you having shouldered the burden of her bargain for me, but next time leave the mystical pact making to the one who's got a handle on it." He thrust a thumb at his own chest. "Speaking of pacts," He turned toward Sigil, "We will discuss my own personal one in due time. Until then, if you need information about laws talk to me and not Naomi. I've spent some time studying them."

,,

"And you," Russell rounded on lisowski, "Shocking secrets about my family? Explain. And so help me, if that was a joke..." His eyes narrowed, filled with venom, "It was in very, very poor taste."

[Superball]

"The deal, was to learn about society and become self sufficient, Sigil, you ahve done not of the sort at every turn other than to disrupt the lives of everyone here."

She squinted. Focussing her rage into a concentrated, tactical scalpel from her sledgehammer of a tempertantrum. This is how a supergenius gets pissed. "I don't know from whish misbegotten dimension you popped out of, and quite frankly I don't care. You are here now. Get damn used to how we do things or you will find yourself alone ona strange planet that would care less who you are. I am suprised for one that was royalty wasn't taught even the basics of ettiquette in society."

"Unfortunately every lesson and scrap of guidance I have given you has only been squandered on juvenile behavior."

She gently pushes the cup out of the way. "Also Coke is a mild acid and contains high fructose syrup. It is practically a posion when you combine it with caffeine.Luckily you haven't developed a habit as Caffiene is also habit forming and can be addictive."

She grinned. "I wonder if a fat fairy can fly... Maybe if I can strap a weather balloon to your waist..."

[Heritage]

Colby grimmaced as things began to unravel. This situation was a familiar one; put a lot of Exceptionals in a room together and you always got some sort of chemical reaction, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Put a brand new Exceptional in the mix and and things become increasingly reactive; put one dipshit loudmouth senior detective in the bottle, and you got an explosion.

,,

Thankfully, Lisowski was too damn shocked to say anything as his mouth gaped and all the color left his face; his partner did her best to put out the fire, even as the smell of brimstone hung in the room. She took a single step toward Russell, but then stoped and turned on her heel to face her partner.

,,

"Linus, apologize."

,,

The older man stood and started to get defensive. "I-"

,,

Colby didn't give him the chance. "Shut up; you've read the man's file, and yet you insult him and his entire family in the most thoughtless way possible. Apologize now."

,,

Lisowski looked between his partner and Russell, and then his eyes nervously flicked to everyone else in the room. Finally he swollowed and barely managed to whisper, "I'm sorry."

,,

"Good, now sit down and be quiet." He dutifuly did so, his eyes downcast. Colby then turned her attention fully to Russell. "Forgive me, Mister Buchanan; my partner is frequently an asshole. I have some information about your family tree that should be of interest to you. Specifically, your magical bloodlines, and how they relate to your 'powers'." She motioned towards the library. "Can we move into a less public place? We have a lot to discuss."

,,

She started towards the door, but then stopped once again and turned to face the fae monarch. "Sigil, perhaps you should have some herbal tea with honey or something, because you are coming on a bit strong; no one likes a hyper fairy." Noting the signs of strain on poor Naomi's face, she cleared her throat. "Look, I'm not sure that Naomi was fully aware of the nature of the bargain she entered at the time of your arrival; would it be possible for another to assume her role as guide, at least temporarily? I offer myself as a worthy candidate."

,,

Kiki nodded. "Me, too; or at least, I can fix your up with a room and clothes." She shrugged. "I love shopping!"

[Superball]

Naomi grunted in a frustrated way.

People knew the tone. Last time was when she tried to get the fuel efficiency in the beast up 50%... and managed to get covered in gasoline and sludge from the engine. Or the time at a public appearance a kid managed to press the right button on her wrist when she was trying to get Naomi's attention and the kid ended up holding on for dear life as Naomi's suit took them both up above the city for 10 minutes before Naomi managed to send a program to colby that sent a landing sequence program into the suit.

It was a grunt of frustration and failure.

She walked over to a table and started absentmindedly reading the news of the day, and started eating her breakfast again.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil, in the meantime, had been undergoing an ominous transformation. Her red hair lifting up a bit, as if blown upwards by a wind from the ground. It resembled more and more a flame atop her head. Yellow points of light flickered in her pupils, and tangible heat rolled off of her as she visibly struggled for composure. Self-control was not a natural talent of the fey...it was in fact antithetical to them. Being part human meant that Sigil could exercise restraint...but it was difficult. And the coke was not making it easier.

,,

"...yesss," she exhaled in a long slow breath in response to Colby's question. "Should my guide and I agree, the bargain can be shifted...just as it was originally shifted to her from Russell. But I suggest, strongly, that she be more careful about this sort of thing in the future. If my situation were anything other than what it is..."

,,

She let that trail off. The gritting of her teeth, and the flex of muscles in her jaw eased, while her hair settled back down...at least as much as it ever did...and lost its flamelike character.

,,

"...but I too should have been more careful accepting a bargain like that from someone I did not know the measure of. So...with my guide's approval, our agreement will be dissolved. One day from now we will decide if a new bargain is to be made between us, Constable Colby. A day to observe, and to reflect."

,,

"Now...there are things I must do. I will return when I'm ready, to discuss the terms of my joining your city watch."

,,

Wind gusted through the foyer, and Sigil broke apart into a flurry of flower petals that streamed away on that wind and were gone.

[Hellhound]

After Colby chided Lisowski, Russell looked sad for a moment. He hadn't meant to cause that much drama, but Lisowski's comment had struck a chord and he'd been unable to help himself. As he listened to Detective Colby's explanation, his sad expression changed to resolve and he nodded at her when she finished speaking.

,,

He waited just long enough for things to calm down. He waited for Naomi to resume her breakfast; he waited for Sigil to depart. Then Russell sighed, and addressed Lisowski briefly. "Look. I'm sorry too. There really are few things in this world that piss me off. That just happens to be one of them. You didn't know I'd react like that and it's pretty damn clear you're sorry for saying it. Just don't do it again and we're cool. Say whatever you want about me. I can take a joke just fine. But leave my family out of it. Some of them aren't around any longer to defend themselves, eh?" Russell nodded, emphasising his own resolve, then made his way toward Colby.

,,

"All right, Detective, what have you got for me?"

[Superball]

"I think I'll head to my room, I'm sick of Sigil's insults."

She takes up her breakfast. "No one insults my character and leaves before I can retort."

"As far as I'm concerned... if the deal is broke, it's broke. She does anything that threatens the team, then deal with her. I'm done with it."

She leaves looking even more frustrated. She had almost reached a state of calm before Sigil wrecked any chance of detente between the two.

[Heritage]

Colby bit her tongue as Sigil and Naomi left the room, though she did squeeze her temples with one hand. "Uh, okay, if you can follow me into the library? I just feel more comfortable discussing this sort of thing in a more...scholarly environment" She opened the door into the gallery, then noticed her partner not getting up from his seat. "Linus, you coming?." She pulled a manila file folder out of her bottomless carpet bag and waved it enticingly. "Forbidden rituals..."

,,

Lisowski shook his head and waved his hand, unable to meet anyone else's gaze. "Nah, you go ahead; I think I'm just gonna...y'know, stay here and, uh, keep Kiki company for a little bit."

,,

Kiki pursed her lips. "Uh, okay, sure." She held up the current issue of Cosmopolitan. "We can do the Cosmo quiz together."

,,

The older man pressed his lips together and nodded firmly. "Absolutely; I always do great on those things."

,,

Colby laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and then motioned for Blitz and Russell to follow her. "C'mon; Kiki, if any of the others come back, just send them into the library, okay?"

,,

Once inside the book-lined room, the detective/vodun priestess put her bag down on one of the tables, motioned for the others to sit, and then began to flip through the papers in her folder. "So Russell...how much do you know about your ancestors? Like going back to the 'Old Country'?"

[Hellhound]

"Hoo boy," Russell sighed, absentmindedly plucking a book from one of the shelves. He began to flip through the pages of a poems book without really reading it.

,,

"Not much." He absent mindedly flipped a few more pages, coming to rest at something that caught his interest. "My close family broke ties when they came to America. Somewhere along the line someone decided to start practicing law, and before you know it, we're too good for the family from back home. 'look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair'." The poem he'd stopped on was Ozymandius. "So the only things I really know for sure are the bed time stories. The kind that are meant to scare you, about Old Grandma Babba Yaga and stuff." Russell shrugged, "I never gave them much credit. Are you telling me there could actually be something to them?"